Tobirama's Final Words

In stark contrast to the turbulent, complex emotions that Madara and Hashirama felt in silence, Izuna's thick nerves, honed by the torrent of information and countless deadlines of modern society, were now functioning with remarkable filtering power.

He was completely unaware of the immense emotional impact and burden his confession, coupled with his swift switch back to normalcy, had placed on the two of them.

In his view, he had said what needed to be said and made the logic as convincing as possible. As for whether Madara and Hashirama believed him or what they thought... that was not within his consideration for the time being.

The most important thing right now is to go home! Rest! Take a bath! Sleep!

The Kyoto trip was physically exhausting, involving a full day of performances, putting on airs in front of the Daimyo, and the chaotic battle royale before parting, not to mention his inexplicable outburst. He now felt as if every bone in his body was screaming to fall apart, and mental fatigue was surging over him like a tidal wave.

Forget Black Zetsu's conspiracy, forget the past and future, forget political negotiations, forget potential threats... all of that can give way to the comfort of my bed!

Upon entering Konoha, Izuna was like a fish back in water, instantly regaining his vitality.

After greeting acquaintances, Izuna immediately took Madara home.

Hashirama, standing in the somewhat empty area at the village entrance, watching the Uchiha brothers' departing figures, and smiled helplessly.

He had originally planned to invite Ban to go for a drink and have a good chat.

Although he knew they probably wouldn't get to talk much and that Ban would mostly just stay silent, at least they could sit together and change the mood.

But now it seems that Madara's full attention is clearly on Izuna.

"Never mind, let the two brothers stay put." Hashirama shook his head and turned his gaze into the depths of the village.

He still had something to do.

Tobirama and disappearing mysteriously lately.

Such a huge incident happened in Kyoto, with attacks and rampages, yet we couldn't find him anywhere. So he quietly slipped back to Konoha?

Was there some urgent matter in the village that required his immediate return? Or... did he sense something and return ahead of schedule?

Hashirama was filled with doubts, but he didn't stop walking and headed straight for the Hokage Building.

He first went to Tobirama's Office and then walked around the Hokage Building, only to find that Tobirama wasn't there.

Hashirama then wandered to a secluded stone cave in the clan's territory, and skillfully navigated through several hidden passages and Sealing Gate to arrive outside the Laboratory.

Sure enough, it's here.

The heavy, specially made metal door was tightly shut.

Hashirama raised his hand and knocked on the door in a specific rhythm. This was the secret signal he and Tobirama had agreed upon.

There was a few seconds of silence inside the door, then a soft "click" was heard as the heavy metal door slid open to one side.

Under the bright shadowless lamps, various glasswares, tubing, and metal instruments engraved with Runes were displayed on the operating table.

The walls were inlaid with Chakra conduction lines that emitted a faint glow, and the air was filled with the smell of disinfectant and some kind of residual ozone.

"Tobirama? I'm back." He said as he walked in, his gaze habitually sweeping over the complex instruments gleaming faintly and the glass containers filled with an unknown liquid. "What are you doing? Such a big thing happened in Kyoto, and you just ran back without a word..."

His words came to an abrupt end.

Because he saw Tobima standing in Tobirama of the central laboratory table.

Even though it had only been a few days, Tobirama's appearance made Hashirama's heart sink.

That usually calm and stern face was now filled with an undeniable weariness.

His eye sockets were sunken, with dark bluish-black beneath them. But what was most shocking was that his usually sharp and clear red eyes were now filled with spiderweb-like blood vessels, a frighteningly red.

He had stubble on his chin that he hadn't had time to shave, his hair looked a bit messy, and there were a few unidentified stains on his white lab coat.

This was simply unimaginable for Tobirama, who had a slight obsession with cleanliness and was meticulous in Tobirama he did.

"Tobirama? You..." Hashirama was startled and stammered, "What happened? How did you get like this? Did something go wrong with the experiment? Or did the village...?"

Tobirama slowly raised his head, staring blankly at Hashirama. The complex emotions in his eyes made Hashirama instantly shut his mouth.

"Big Brother..." Tobirama's voice was terribly hoarse, as if he hadn't had much water for days, "You're back just in time. I..."

He paused, seemingly unsure where to begin, and turned his gaze to the center of the experimental table, where a completely black scroll was solemnly placed.

Hashirama also noticed the scroll.

"I later heard the general outline of what happened in Kyoto from the Anbu who stayed behind," Tobirama finally found his voice. "I know about Izuna's rampage, which forced out a monster called Black Zetsu, and the unknown power he displayed... But I came back early because of this."

He pointed to the black scroll.

"I suspect... no, I'm almost certain." Tobirama a deep breath and said, word by word, "The 'me' from Izuna's world came here. While you were still in Kyoto. This scroll was left to me by him."

"What?!" Hashirama's eyes widened in shock, his mind going blank. "You from another world? You came to Konoha? And left something behind? How could you not tell me about something this important right away?!"

Tobirama licked his dry lips, not immediately answering Hashirama's question about "why he didn't inform us," but continued, "This scroll... records everything. All the technical data about Izuna's left eye, the 'Samsara Eye,' and suggestions for improvement."

He picked up the scroll, his fingers turning slightly white from the pressure. "Our guess was right, Big Brother. Izuna's left eye was indeed cultivated using your cells as a base. The technique is extremely... unbelievable. He forcibly imitated and structured a complex Dōjutsu system similar to the Mangekyō Sharingan."

Tobirama's tone carried the fervor and awe of a researcher encountering the pinnacle of achievement. "That eye itself is an extremely precise, multi-layered, nested composite Sealing Jutsu technique."

"The position of every Runes and the connection of every energy node must be incredibly precise; the slightest mistake will cause the entire system to collapse."

Next to him were several petri dishes containing various tissue samples that had lost their activity and melted into a pool of turbid liquid.

"These past few days, I've been trying to simulate this architecture without your cells," Tobirama, a look of frustration on his face. "But I keep failing."

"The first reason is that the composite technique itself is too complex. There can be no mistakes; even the slightest deviation will make it impossible to unify the technique's guidance to a single point."

"And the second reason," Tobirama's voice deepened, "Is that, apart from your cells, none of the biological cells I've tested so far can withstand that level of Runes imprinting and energy load."

"They either collapse and die during the initial imprinting process, or they disintegrate after barely managing to bear a portion of the inscription because they cannot reconcile the conflicts between the Runes that occur during the engraving process."

Tobirama pointed to the failed samples, "They're like fragile clay; forcing them to withstand the weight of steel and the scorching heat of fire will only result in them crumbling to pieces."

He looked at the black scroll again, his eyes filled with complex emotions. "And in this scroll... he also wrote three sentences at the end."

"Take good care of Izuna. Don't mention me to him, and... as long as he's happy."

Tobirama paused here, leaving only the low hum of the instruments and his slightly heavy breathing in the Laboratory.

He raised his head and looked at Hashirama, who was also in shock, his voice as soft as if he were talking in his sleep.

"Big Brother... I... I can't understand."

"What kind of bond... what kind of determination and sacrifice... is needed... for such technology to be born into this world?"

"This is tens of millions of times more complex than the Flying Thunder God I researched... or the Impure World Reincarnation I secretly experimented with..."

"This thing completely defies the common sense of Kekkei Genkai. I tried to imitate it for three days and three nights, but I still couldn't get the hang of it."

"When I studied Izuna's eyes before, I knew they were complex, but I didn't expect them to be this complex."

"My other self... How much time did he spend? How many times did he fail? How much effort did he put in? Just to... give Izuna an eye? And a Mangekyō Sharingan at that?"

"And, Big Brother," Tobirama looked at the black scroll, "Those three sentences he wrote in the scroll... it's like... it's like a will."

Take good care of Izuna.

Don't mention me to him.

As long as he feels happy, that's all that matters.

There was no signature, no further explanation, not even a single word to express emotion.

But Tobirama understood instantly.

This is my last words.

He avoided him, leaving without even showing his face.

This means he will never come back.

Realizing this made Tobirama feel suffocated.

Wanting to make people feel happy is a form of care.

But for the sake of others' happiness, they choose to leave completely, erasing their existence from the other person's world, even voluntarily giving up the right to be remembered...

What kind of feeling was that?

Tobirama couldn't understand it.

He could understand brotherhood, kinship, and romantic love, but he couldn't imagine what kind of relationship or emotion would make another version of himself feel that seeing that person happy was enough for him.

Even if I can never stand by their side, even if they never remember that I ever existed, it doesn't matter.

This kind of pure dedication, which could be described as martyrdom, made Tobirama feel a sense of unfamiliarity and shock from the depths of his soul.

He had been thinking about this for the past three days, and couldn't fall asleep no matter how hard he tried.

Hashirama remained silent.

He listened to Tobirama's hoarse voice, looked at the rare confusion in his younger brother's eyes, and then recalled Izuna's earlier frankness and his subsequent rapid return to normalcy...

A vague yet heartbreaking thought gradually became clear in his mind.

I'm afraid... Izuna's and his own words, "I'm not sure how much I remember," and "I've completely forgotten what happened during my rampage," are not just excuses.

He really forgot.

Izuna likely chose to forget unconsciously.

Hashirama recalled Izuna's expression when he recounted the past.

He described his acquaintance with Tobirama, their arguments, and their mutual learning in a flat tone, with a touch of his usual disdain and a hint of nostalgia, but that was all.

When he mentioned Tobirama, he only said one thing: that he was actually a cheerful and gentle person.

How understated!

Izuna's narrative focuses primarily on major events such as the conflict at the Naka River, the reconciliation negotiations between the two clans, and the establishment of Konoha.

Regarding the specific interactions between him and those three people, such as how they went from disliking each other to building that unique understanding, and how they became family over the long years...

Izuna almost entirely glossed over these stories that should have been full of detail and warmth.

If Izuna truly cared about the past as much as he portrayed, shouldn't he instinctively mention these emotionally charged fragments first when describing it?

It was as natural as when he described clinging to Madara Hashirama bringing him delicious food.

However, aside from some details mentioned in the Naka River when he was a child, it was never mentioned again.

This might be a subtraction Izuna made to summarize the past, so why did he mention his childhood stories?

Also, his eyes—no matter how much you try to ignore them, it's impossible for him to completely ignore them, right? It's impossible that he didn't experience any inconvenience or discomfort over such a long period of time.

But this wasn't mentioned at all.

And then there was this time, his berserk state when facing Black Zetsu, and the amnesia that followed.

Hashirama initially thought it was a temporary memory gap caused by overexertion or emotional shock.

But now, considering the sacrifice of Tobirama another world revealed by this scroll, and Izuna's amnesia...

It's likely that Izuna unconsciously activated some kind of self-protection mechanism.

He deliberately buried away all the deep ties he had with them in the other world, all the sorrow and anger he could have endured... all that pain, all those heavy memories.

It's even possible that, during the rampage, the strange power that suddenly awakened, capable of harming Black Zetsu's true form, and the almost instinctive, overwhelming rage against Black Zetsu, were themselves ignited by these repressed memories.

After the outburst, in order to prevent himself from being overwhelmed by the immense emotions and memories, his subconscious forcefully "sealed" everything back down.

That's why he "doesn't remember".

That's why he instinctively omits those details when recounting the past.

That's why he can now laugh so brightly and live so easily, as if nothing happened.

Because he had to.

If he remembered everything, if he allowed himself to feel the weight of that loss, to confront the silent yet immense sacrifices of Tobirama... those tragic pasts... he might truly break down.

Izuna... is protecting his present self through self-harm.

Hashirama's heart felt as if it were being tightly gripped by an invisible hand, causing him intense, dull pain.

Hashirama took a deep breath, trying his best to suppress the turbulent emotions surging within him.

He was also worried about Izuna's situation, but at this moment, Tobirama Senju stood before him.

It's his younger brother.

The unfamiliar fear and bewilderment in Tobirama's eyes, the undisguised exhaustion and dishevelment on his face.

The final words left by his other self in another world, the suffocatingly heavy emotions, the incomprehensible sacrifices...

And the scroll might contain Suggestion about a tragic end in another world... All of this is enough to make anyone lose their composure, let alone a proud and sharp mind like Tobirama's.

"Tobirama." Hashirama's voice became steady.

He strode forward, reached out, and placed his hand on Tobirama's shoulder.

The palms are broad and warm, conveying a steadfast strength.

Look at me.

Tobirama's somewhat unfocused gaze was drawn back by the sound and touch, and he focused on Hashirama's face.

"You need to rest now," Hashirama said firmly, staring at him. "Immediately, right now."

"Big Brother, I..." Tobirama instinctively wanted to object, wanting to say that he still had a lot of data to analyze, a lot of ideas to verify, that complex technique structure...

"Nothing is more important than you." Hashirama interrupted him, his tone even more resolute. "You haven't slept for three days and three nights, have you? Look at yourself! If you keep going like this, you'll collapse before you even figure anything out!"

He applied slight force with his hand and pulled Tobirama away from the lab table, where a simple cot lay.

The blankets were in disarray, indicating that Tobirama had only occasionally leaned against them briefly, but had never truly rested.

"I know you want to understand, and I want to know too." Hashirama softened his tone, but remained firm. "But what's done is done, the scroll is right here, there's no going back. What you need most right now is a clear head and plenty of energy, not just stubbornly pushing yourself to the limit!"

He half-pushed, half-pulled Tobirama to the camp bed and forced him to sit down without a word.

"Go to sleep. That's an order, the Clan Head's order, and my brother's order."

Tobirama opened his mouth, but seeing the rare majesty on Hashirama's face, the tension in his eyes slowly eased.

A wave of intense fatigue washed over him, instantly overwhelming his will to struggle.

"I see."

He slowly closed his eyes and fell asleep, exhausted.